


its the doom days, baby

by na_scathach



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: American Politics, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, F/F, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant - The Trials of Apollo, Politics, Religious Conflict, Revolution, Slow Build, Slow Burn, The Mist isn't feeling so good Mr.Stark, Twitter, it's gonna be long folks, time skip from the end of BoO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-02-27 12:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18738976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/na_scathach/pseuds/na_scathach
Summary: Jason Grace should know by now, that happiness does not last.On the 21st of December, the Mist fails. Like something has ripped a hole in it for all humanity to see, to see them.The gods will not help them. They are alone with the Governments of the world and monsters that now roam freely through cities as mortals watch in morbid fascination. There is nowhere to hide now and Jason knows that this might be the beginning of the end.This is the tale of a society shaken to its foundation, of a people desperate to save themselves and their way of life against all odds. This is a tale of violence and death and love and progress and discovery and revolution. It's the beginning of change for everything and the world as they know will cease to exist.How, is the question that is important.





	1. fall into the night with you

**Author's Note:**

> hey yeah what the fuck am i doing. 
> 
> yeah mairead go and start another fic while working on two. Two!. other fics. and make this one a slowburn political drama!! thats a smart idea!
> 
>  
> 
> please feed me kudos, bookmarks, comments, the like. 
> 
> also this chapter has underage drinking for these American characters, but where im from they'd be legal so i didn't pay too much attention to it.

It's the Winter Solstice and Jason Grace is very drunk.

 

Jason is at Rachel's apartment, a huge spacious loft in Newport and by the looks of it so is the majority of Camp Half-Blood and some of the Legion. It's all people he can recognize, older demigods like him. He can see a very drunk Travis lazily hitting on Katie Gardener, then after she tells him to fuck off, he wanders over and starts flirting with Dakota. Drew has Rachel on her lap, while Rachel animatedly talks shop with Hazel about art. Most of the old Head Counselors are here, like Will and Lou-ellen and Nyssa. He spots Gwen racing Annabeth, shot for shot, while Percy, who is probably the only sober person here, shouts his encouragements.

 

Jason is happy. The din of the party is a warm blanket around him and the alcohol makes his skin fuzzy. He's sitting on a warm, comfy L-shaped couch and everything is good _._

 

“Jace! My man! My buddy! My bestest friend”

 

Then, from nowhere, like a mirage, appeared Leo Valdez. Jason’s sober brain rationalizes the fact that Jason wasn't wearing his glasses and he was drunk as to why he didn't see Leo coming but Drunk!Jason's brain immediately went to ‘ _he can teleport!’._

 

“Can- Can you teleport, Leo?” he asked, his eyes widening with excitement. Leo looked adorably confused for a second, his face all twisty before he shook his head, “Nah, haven't figured it out yet”.

 

Leo looked like a vision tonight. A very nice vision. The kind Jason got after standing next to Grover for too long at a party. He was dressed in a loose, sleeveless white t-shirt that had the words 'when a scientist dies, they barium' printed across the front. So his strong, tanned arms were on display. His jeans were just plain denim jeans, but they were Leo's party jeans, which meant they were tight and were ripped as all Hades like he had let Reyna's greyhounds tear at them. So, he looked nicer than Jason, who was wearing just a plain t-shirt and normal jeans and a red letterman jacket Thalia had gotten him for Christmas.

 

He also looked sad. Jason would not stand for it.

 

He pulled Leo down into a hug until Leo had to kneel on the couch to keep himself from falling over.

 

Leo’s body was warm against Jason's, the heat of his body warming Jason to the core. He also smelt really good, of his Old Spice aftershave and firewood and the lingering scent of oil from his job at the Garage. Jason buried his head in the crook of Leo's neck, while Leo looped his arms around Jason's neck, his head pressed against the side of Jason's head.

 

Jason was very happy.

 

“You smell nice, Jace,” Leo said, his voice muffled by Jason's hair.

 

“No, you smell nice” he retorts, wrapping his arms around Leo to hug him tighter.

 

Leo lets out a muffled grumble, smushing his face against Jason's head. “No, _you”_

 

Jason pulled back to look Leo directly in the eyes. His eyes were really pretty. All brown and gold and orange and shit. He had a pretty face too. Actually, pretty wasn't strong enough. His face was breathtaking, gorgeous, otherworldly in its beauty and Jason could stare at it for hours. He could stare at the freckles and the white scar that ran from under his chin up to the middle of his left cheek. He could stare at his delicate cheekbones and his crooked grin all day.

 

Leo blinked his pretty eyes at him, mouth upturned at its corners. “You there, Jason?”

 

Leo had a pretty mouth too.

 

“Hhnnnnng”

 

Leo snorted at Jason's nonsense, which caused Jason to giggle in response to Leo's snort and soon they were in stitches, eyes watering and laughs silent from how hard they were giggling.

 

Until Leo snorted and they were in hysterics again.

 

“ _W-what are we even laughing at?!”_ Leo said between gasping laughs, his legs thrown over Jason's lap as he fell down against the couch, lying down and looking up at the dark ceiling.

 

“You-You,” Jason could barely get through it, it was that gods-damned funny, “you snorted _”._

 

Leo let out one final wheezy laugh, before quietening, snuggling into the couch, his hair splayed around his head like a halo. His eyes were shut, soft dark lashes against warm brown skin. His freckles were pretty too, like stars in a clear night sky, scattered over his nose and cheeks.

 

God, he was handsome. But would Jason ever tell him that? No, no he would not.

 

The party was beginning to wind down, demigods taking their place scattered across the apartment, around the centerpiece.

 

The brazier.

 

It was an old, ornate gold brazier that had been lit with Leo’s fire almost 5 hours ago. It still burnt bright, using minimal fuel, and it had been enchanted by Lou-Ellen to change color with the mood of the room and do not emit any smoke unless it was an offering.

 

Right now, the color was a happy, soft orange.

 

Jason, looking around now, saw most people had taken places around the brazier, chatting quietly or giggling or kissing or even sleeping.  Reyna and Piper were making out on a chair in the corner of the room, while Rachel and Drew sleepily talked only a few feet from the fire. He could see Percy and Annabeth, in some kind of pillow-fortress, sleeping. Hazel and Frank were chatting, curled around each other while Nico slept on Will, who was quietly talking with Travis, Nyssa, and Lou-Ellen. He could see a passed out Gwen curled tightly around the base of the brazier, mumbling nonsense phrases in Latin. Dakota was petting her hair, eyes glassy. Bodies just sort of lay haphazardly around, adding to the lazy atmosphere.

 

Then, in a fit of bravery, or laziness, Jason tipped himself over, so he was laying on the thin couch with Leo.

 

Leo had been curled on his side, already half-asleep, when Jason fell down and fitted himself behind Leo.

 

“Hng- _wha?”_ he asked half-heartedly as Jason slung an arm over Leo's waist, pulling him back to Jason's chest.

 

“ _Shhh,”_ Jason whispered, his breath ghosting over the nape of Leo's neck.

 

Leo, apparently happy with these arrangements, sighed contentedly and snuggled back into Jason's chest. Jason smiled and shut his eyes, happy to sleep until tomorrow, with Leo in his arms and his friends all here in this apartment.

 

Jason Grace, Student of Colombia University, part-time demigod, 19 years old and happy _._ Jason knows that he's changed since he was 16 and fighting Giants. He's calmer, quieter, content with just being _._ He's happy with his apartment in New York he shares with Leo, he's happy with his choice of career-

 

( _He wants to teach High-School English. Leo laughed for 2 hours straight when he told him and teased him mercilessly with the ‘Professor Grace’ jokes)_

 

-at Colombia. He's happy that for once, they can celebrate the Solstice like it's supposed to be done, like normal Pagans, with drink and food and offerings. Also, weed, but Jason was still apprehensive about so he went without it.

 

Leo has changed too.

 

He's just as excitable and energetic, but after the War, after that burden was taken off his shoulder, Leo found his center. Yeah, Leo had issues, Jason knew that, but Leo was seeing an actual, licensed therapist and he talked to Jason about his past. At home, he didn't put up the act, most of the time. He told Jason stuff he had never told anyone and Jason listened and gave him a shoulder to hide in.

 

Leo also cut his hair, dyed it from brown to black to blue to white back to brown, shaved the sides short in an undercut-style, then let it grow back again, soft curls wild around his head.

 

‘ _If I'm going to have a mental breakdown, I'm going to do it in_ _style’_

 

He pierced his ears and re-pierced his nose and he and Jason got tattoos. They were normal and happy and sleepy _._

 

_(Jason had two tattoos. One was a wolf on his shoulder, grey and minimalistic. The other was flowers, all kinds, which blossomed around his SPQR tattoo, entangling it. Leo had a minimalistic dragon tattoo that spanned his entire back, the tail curling around Leo's hip and the wings touching the edge of his shoulders. The other was on the outside of his right thigh. A beautiful flower that started at his knee and curled up to his other hip bone. It was yellow, with a green stem, a Tecoma stan. Or, known more commonly, as an Esperanza Flower)_

 

Jason snuggled closer to Leo, his nose smashing against his nape and he breathed in his scent. The fire crackled gently in the almost-silence, the low voices of those still awake and not...distracted giving a sense of protection. Leo was already asleep, his breathing even and his body lax.

 

Jason Grace pulled him closer and fell quickly after him, like always.

 

* * *

  


For years, humanity has been damaging their own atmosphere, with pollution and gas and all manner of hideous things.

 

Demigods are no better.

 

The pollutants may have not been the same, but they had the same effects. The overuse of Mist and the damage humanity had done to its own atmosphere had caused the perfect storm.

 

The death of Gaia just dragged it to breaking point.

 

You see, the death of a primordial being was nothing to scoff at. Gaia, in all her madness, was still a cornerstone of creation and her death sent shockwaves throughout the world. Literal shockwaves. The death of Kronos only the year before did not help.

 

The repercussions were slow to come, so slow that no one noticed. The slow failure of The Mist.

 

And on the 21st of December, the Winter Solstice, at Midnight, the highest point of darkness in the entire year-

 

_It stopped._

 

* * *

  


Jason wakes up groggily.

 

His head is pounding and his mouth is dry and his tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth and uck-

 

He slowly becomes aware of where he is, his body supported by a comfy couch and a line of heat is pressed against his body, like his own personal space heater. He lets his eyes open, a sliver of blue showing to the outside world.

 

It’s still dark, the only light coming from the low-burning brazier in the center of the room. He can see Leo’s mop of dark brown hair underneath his nose, his face hidden in Jason’s chest, his breath warm against his t-shirt.

 

Jason, seeing as everyone else was passed out, shut his eyes again, willing himself to go back to sleep, seeing as it was about 6 in the morning and Jason had only fallen asleep around 2.

 

4 hours of sleep and a hangover make not a happy man, Jason Grace.

 

Sadly, since Hypnos or maybe even Morpheus was angry with him this week, Jason’s mind stayed annoyingly alert. His groggy body had that tingly sense of awareness and his eyes were restless behind his eyelids.

 

 _‘Please, by the love of the gods, let me_ _rest’_

 

After about a minute of useless arguing with himself, his eyes snapped open and he gingerly de-tangled himself from Leo, who made small sounds of distress as Jason pulled away. This almost made Jason lie back down so Leo would have something to snuggle but if Jason allowed himself to be _soberly snuggled_  by Leo, he wouldn’t have an excuse and that would be weird so it’s just better that Jason leaves.

 

He pads in his socks to the kitchen, shoes lost long ago early in the night, deciding that a cup of the sweetest coffee he could find would suffice instead of sleep. Leo didn’t usually drink coffee, on account of his severe ADHD but when he did, it was dark and bitter. He can remember when Leo first stole a swig of Jason’s coffee when they first started living together. He vividly remembers, as he starts Rachel’s machine, the way Leo went through the seven stages of grief as it touched his tongue. To this day, Leo shivers at the amount of sugar Jason puts in just about everything.

 

Then, as Jason waits for his coffee to finish, he fishes out his phone from his jean pocket.

 

The phones were normal phones, Android, and Apple alike, but it was the software that made it special. Leo had installed an app that bounced the phones IP off multiple towers all over the world, making it impossible to track. The App also came with built-in enchantments, a mix of technology and magic, that hid the user's scent entirely.

 

Jason’s phone was gold and possibly an android. Jason didn’t know enough about this kind of stuff to know. The only reason Jason knew about the App was that Leo had ranted to Jason about it a _lot when_  he was programming it.

He unlocks it, watching the screen flick from a picture of Long Beach in the Summer to his home screen picture. It’s a stupid photo of him, Leo and Piper at Leo’s 19th at the apartment.

 

Leo is sitting on a plastic chair like an 18th-century monarch, legs splayed and slumped. He’s wearing shades and Jason’s jacket like a cape, his mouth pulled into a lazy smile. Jason and Piper, both in shades and with twice the amount of tinsel around their necks, are crouched at either side of the chair, hands in a praying position against their lips, hiding their smiles.

 

Then Jason looks at his notifications.

 

There is twice the amount there usually is.

 

There are some messages he didn’t look at last night, from his classmates and stuff, but there are a good few notifications from News Accounts Jason follows on twitter. Jason’s heart contacts because he just bets that it’s another shooting, another display of mortal hatred-

 

Then he actually reads it.

 

**{Breaking; NYPD attacked by a strange, dog-like creature.**

 

**CNN**

_By: Sofia Guiterrez_

_Uploaded 1 hour ago_

 

_2 hours ago, shaky images of the NYPD being attacked by a large, dog-like creature were uploaded to Twitter by user @Michelle_dykenson who was in the Station at the time. A video which was uploaded an hour ago shows the uploader hiding under a chair as the creature, a black shaggy dog the size of a car lumbered around the room, growling at police and barking. Bullets did seemingly little, apparently not damaging the creature at all._

_Thankfully, the creature seemed disinterested in causing actual harm and after half an hour, it disappeared into a wall, leaving the people inside shaken, but not seriously harmed._

 

_Readers, I speak to you now truthfully when I say I have no idea what’s going on. This has not been the only case tonight. Berkeley, Houston, New York, and Washington have all reported sightings of strange creatures, from girls with donkey legs to a large, snake-like creature in downtown Houston that remains docile._

 

_Neither the White House nor any other governing body has released a statement and we remain in the dark. Is it an Alien Invasion? A bunch of experiments gone wrong? Hallucinogens in our Water?._

 

_Whatever is happening, we have no answers and barely any reasonable questions. Stay with us at CNN for updates as this progresses and stay inside and alert the police if you see anything out of the ordinary.}_

  


Jason can’t move.

 

He’s gripping his phone, his hand turning white with strain and his chest feels like someones poured a bucket of concrete into it. His vision is blurry, even with his glasses and he can’t. He can’t understand what's happening. His brain is filled with white noise and his jaw works up and down uselessly.

 

_What the fuck is happening._

 

He runs from the kitchen to the main part of the loft, his breathing ragged and eyes were blown wide. He flicks on the light, the bright industrial lighting flooding the dark room.

 

Bodies let out groans and shifted around, grumbling and burying themselves away from the light.

 

“Guys, wake up, c’mon wake _up,_ ” he said panicked, shaking Leo awake, his own hand shaking with-

 

Fear.

 

He was afraid.

 

“Jason- wha’ you doin’” Leo mumbled as Jason pulled him upright, desperate for someone else to- to be with him, to tell him they saw what was happening, maybe even to tell him what was happening.

 

“Jason Grace, what the fuck are you doing?!” screeched Reyna, who was stumbling upright, eyes wild. She was in disarray, her dark hair tangled and her clothes rumpled.

 

“The News, something, _something is happening”_

 

Reyna paused, but walked over to the TV and switched it on. Leo, who was now mostly awake, was sitting cross-legged on the couch, face worried as he looked at Jason. The others started to wake up too, sitting up straight and blinking lazily around the bright room as Reyna flicked from channel to channel until she stopped at CNN.

 

“-now, after that announcement from The President, we go back to our reporter in New York, who’s been talking to eyewitnesses from the attack at the NYPD station, who has another update-”

Everyone had their eyes trained on the screen, as the reporter talked, in length, about the ‘dog’ (it’s a hellhound. A hellhound attacked at NYPD and mortals saw) that attacked and disappeared. They take accounts from bedraggled witnesses and the police themselves, each terrified and confused.

 

The air in the loft has lost all warmth and the tension is so thick Jason could cut it with his sword.

 

Then, it’s back to the main hub and then to another reporter in Houston, in San Francisco, in LA, in Boston, in Phoenix, in San Diego, in Florida-

 

“It’s happening everywhere” Travis whispers into the loud silence, his voice hoarse.

 

They’ve been looking at the TV for half an hour before anyone thinks of moving, their bodies stilled in a mix of fear and confusion.

 

“We need to talk to Chiron, or Lady Hecate or someone” Annabeth declares, standing on shaky legs, her voice crackling with disuse. Percy follows her and steadies her, his face emotionless as he supported her.

 

Everyone else followed, standing up on creaking joints _(it's cold and dark and no one slept enough and old scars always act up in winter)_ as they moved closer to one another, still keeping one eye on the TV.

 

Leo stood beside Jason, his hand gripping Jason’s shirt like it was a lifeline, his other hand clasped tightly by Piper.

 

“Romans, we need to leave for New Rome,” Frank ordered, his voice calm but held steel beneath it “We’ll call an emergency Senate meeting, to discuss…..this”.

 

Both Hazel and Frank were sober last night since Frank was only 17 and Hazel was 16, so while they were tired, they were both blessedly sober.

 

Nico, who was not sober last night, thanks to both Leo and Piper’s combined drunken efforts, which Nico gladly subjected himself to, stood up shakily, his brown eyes bloodshot.

 

 _‘He’s, like, a baby, but he needs to have some fun in his sad little emo life. Also! He’s like...17 and that’s way older than when I started drinking!’_ was Leo’s compelling argument when Hazel found her brother giggling into a bowl of chips. Jason had to restrain himself from reminding Leo that he was 13 when he started drinking and that was because he was in a minor street gang.

 

“I can take them to Rome, but I won’t be able to come back in my condition without over-exerting myself, so you’ll have to find a way to Camp without me” Nico spoke, stretching and popping his joints. Nico looked better than he did 3 years ago. He grew, shooting up to 5’10 and his skin went from being ‘deathly-pale’ to ‘he could use some sun’. He even had freckles and wore gray sometimes.

 

“It’s fine, we have other ways,” Percy said, eyes unreadable and, wow, that sounded-

 

“Wow, Perce, that sure sounds fucking ominous” Leo quipped, his voice hoarse as he watched the TV with glassy eyes.

 

Jason was spending too much time around Leo, picking up his jokes and thinking like him

 

He wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders and Leo leaned into him, obviously still tired.

 

Nico gave Will a quick hug before he, Gwen, Dakota, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all held hands and disappeared into a shadow. Piper had been reluctant to separate from her girlfriend, her free hand gripping Reyna’s until she reluctantly pulled away from her, dark eyes regretful.

 

Once they disappeared, Piper retreated into Leo, wrapping herself around him like a particularly motivated sloth. Leo buried his face in her hair, since he was about an inch taller than her now, 5’7 to Piper’s 5’6.  

 

“Right, everyone,” croaked Annabeth, rubbing a hand over her face, “pack up belongings and gather at they alleyway beside the building when you’re ready”

 

With the orders, people began hastily putting on shoes or picking up weapons or clothes they dropped during the night.

 

“Well, here it goes, I suppose,” Leo said, soft and to himself, but Jason picked it up and his chest stuttered.

 

It did feel like something was happening like they were balanced on the edge of a precipice and soon, they would all go tumbling off into the unknown.

  


* * *

 

 

In all his years as a beat-cop, Jackie has never seen anything like this.

 

Ever.

The huge lion/goat/snake hybrid is walking the deserted street, it’s golden pelt illuminated by the rising sun. Its feet drag behind it as it lumbers around, it’s lion nose sniffing the air every now and again. It’s the second head, the goat one, that bleats madly in the silence of the morning.

 

His partner, the rookie, Marie Ahn, is staring at the thing with unbridled horror. “What the fuck is it? ” she whispers, her hand resting on her service weapon.

 

“That,” he says, voice calm despite the way his old heart is pounding in his chest, “is a demon. Or a government mistake. Or a hallucination. Or God’s judgment”. The thing trots around some more, completely ignoring them in the squad car, only a few feet away from it, it’s snake-tail-thing whipping around in the cold morning air.

 

“I don’t believe in God, Anderson”

 

Jackie laughs, sudden and unexpected, at Ahn’s bluntness. She narrows her dark eyes at him, the annoyance barely covering her fear. “Calm down, kiddo. It won’t attack. Just like it didn’t attack anyone at the Department. So long as these fine people-” and he spreads his arms to showcase the neighborhood, “-stay inside as our commander-in-chief told them, our job is to sit and watch and wait for orders”.

 

“It was a different creature that attacked Headquarters, so we have no idea what it’ll do” retorts Ahn, eyes trained on the big lug in the middle of the street.

 

Then, as if prompted by Ahn, a boy appeared.

 

He would’ve been about 13, maybe 14. Tall and built for his age. He appeared in front of the Squad car, obscuring their view of the demon. “Hey! Kid! Go back inside!” he shouts, banging on the glass of the windscreen to get his attention. Ahn unbuckles her seatbelt, preparing to get out, weapon unholstered, but Jackie pulls her back into her seat before she opens the door.

 

The kid turns back to look him dead in the eyes, just for a split second, before he turns away again.

 

That’s when he hears the growling. It shakes the car and digs its way into his head. Ahn stops struggling against him, slouching back in her seat.

 

The kid moves forward.

 

He walks closer and closer until he can see both the boy and the demon, who are staring at each other and circling.

 

The boy has a bronze sword in his right hand.

 

They watch in horror as the creature leaps at the child, eyes wide and alert, mouths foaming.

 

They dance, the boy and the demon for what seems like a few seconds. The creature is agile and determined, but the boy is fast, faster than most people should be with a dancer’s grace and agility, his sword spinning, and twisting-

 

Then, five seconds into this battle, the boy plunges his sword into the creature, hilt deep and the demon roars, houses shaking with its force. The boy is grinning, eyes alight and smile bright as he buries the sword into the creature-

 

The boy is between the demon’s jaws.

 

The boy is in its mouth and the demon crunches and the boy screams, blood running down the demon’s lion face as it lifts him up in the air by his middle.

 

Jackie can’t look away but Jackie can’t move.

 

The demon bursts into a colorful explosion of gold dust and the boy fell to the ground, body splayed on the concrete, red-blooming outwards from his body-

 

“This is Officer Anderson, we need an ambulance in Midtown right away, an adolescent male is down and losing blood fast” he commands over the crackling radio as Ahn rushes over to the boy.

 

“We’ve dispatched one, expect one in 5 minutes”

 

Jackie looks at the kid through the windshield, watching as Ahn rolls him onto his back and presses her hands to his side.

 

Jackie thinks the kid won’t be alive by the time that ambulance comes around.


	2. just don't forget to show me some mercy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dunno man. but here it is anyways.

 

Leo never wanted to travel with the Grey Sisters ever again. Like, ever. If Leo had to  _ die  _ to avoid doing that again, then he would. It lasted maybe 5 minutes, but it was 5 minutes of pure fear. The taxi they drove had expanded to carry them all back to CHB, but that’s where the good side of the Grey Sisters ended. They squabble over an eye, a fucking  _ eye  _ as they drove, blind might he add. Three squabbling elderly blind women make less than stellar drivers, in Leo’s professional opinion. They also shared some screeching remarks about whatever was happening, lots of stuff about ‘disturbances in the force’ or something. 

 

He hid in Jason’s shirt for the entirety of the ride, fainting a bout of motion sickness so he could be close to him. Leo actually hasn’t had bad motion sickness since he was a kid and Jason knows this, but he says nothing, which is a blessing to Leo. 

 

Thankfully, they reach Camp Half-Blood at 6:47, still under the cover of darkness, most of them covered in jackets and huddling for warmth as they climb up the hill in the snow. Jason and Piper and hugging him from either side as he amps up his own internal heat. Of course, the downside to their warmth is that the snow melts wherever he steps and soaks his shoes in slush. 

Pelos is sleeping, curled tightly around Thalia’s Pine Tree and the Fleece winks dimly in the dark. They breach the breast of the hill and he stops, watching Camp. It’s quiet, covered in snow. The Cabins are lit by the torches, casting deep shadows across the ground.

 

The Big House is dark. 

 

Together, their merry band of hungover bastard children marches down to Camp, half-running, half-jogging through the snow, like the most determined dumbasses since the founding fathers. 

Percy and Annabeth start banging on the door to the Big House, while people split up to go their respective cabins and wake up their siblings. Piper and Drew leave him while he, Jason and Nyssa start waking up their sibling in Cabin 9.

 

Nyssa flicks on the lights and the room erupts in groans and muffled cursing.

 

“Hey,” Leo stage-whispers to his brother, “Hey, Harley, buddy, you gotta wake up” 

Harley blearily opens his eyes, hazy gaze locking on Leo’s face. For a second, he doesn’t recognize Leo through the fog of sleep, but after a quick second, his brain catches up and he breaks out in a huge smile, his dark eyes clearing with excitement.

“Leo!” he squeals, effectively waking up the rest of the cabin, “what are you doing back so early?”

 

He tumbled out of bed and into Leo, nearly bowling him over onto the floor. He’s only saved by Jason, who pushes him up by gripping onto his shoulders, strong hands almost encircling Leo’s thin shoulders. Hey, in other news, Leo now can’t stop thinking about Jason’s big hands on himself and now he’s ruined! Yay!. 

 

Harley is 5’3, 12 years old and built like a brick-shithouse. 

 

At 12, Leo was at max 4’8 and looked like a stiff wind could cause him to turn to dust. 

 

“Leo? What the fuck-”

 

“Language!” 

 

“Oh shut the fuck up, Chris. It’s like 6 in the morning. I can curse if I want to”

 

Their newest member, foul-mouthed Lancia, is 11 years old and angry. Angry like Leo was when he was a young kid after his mom died but before he learned that no-one gave a shit about your anger if you were a tiny foster-kid. 

 

His Cabin has a max of four people in it, considering some of his siblings have gone back home for school. It’s just the year-round campers, the unwanted, the orphaned or those unable to go home for whatever reason.

 

“Hey, guys, you all need to wake up, it’s-” he begins to say, but stops himself before he can explain. What  _ is  _ happening? Leo’s just been running on adrenaline since he saw the News report but it’s like his mind can’t actually comprehend it, nevermind saying it. Can the mortals see monsters now? But why? How? The feeling settles in the back of his mind and digs its hands under his ribs, gripping his heart in a fist. 

 

He fumbles for a sentence, to explain, but his jaw works up and down uselessly, his face scrunched up in confusion. 

“We need you all dressed and ready, ASAP, but stay in your Cabins until we call you”. Oh, thank the gods for his _hermana._ His Father gave her and Jake all the social abilities and left the rest of them high and dry and socially incompetent.

 

Then, it’s back out the door to the Big House, the pastel blue adding to the creepiness of the place. 

 

Leo is still a good few feet away from the porch when he hears the shouting. That is Annabeth shouting. This causes their merry little band of three to stop in their tracks, stock still. Leo looks up at Jason, who is looking at the Big House like it’s enemy numero uno, while Nys looks at it like it’s a particularly stubborn machine. 

“Well, which one of you brave souls wants to lead the charge?” he quips, rocking back on his heels in the slushy snow.

“I’m 21, therefore the eldest and as the eldest, I should be given status, and you’re both Saviors of Olympus. If you can both fight Gaia and Giants then you can protect a poor elderly demigod from the wrath of a hungover, pissed-off, confused Annabeth Chase”

 

Leo scowls at his sister but stomps up to the porch, snow steaming in his wake. 

 

The sky is starting to gain some color. It’s not sunrise, but it’s close, the darkness retreating to reveal hints of purple and red and blue. 

They file in and the argument is clear now as they enter the main room. It’s the party group and the new head counselors, some he recognizes, some he does not. Shane is the head counselor of Cabin 9, but he’s not a year-rounder, so he’s at home with his Dads in Seattle.

 

“Okay,” Percy breaks in between Annabeth and Clarisse, who are arguing viciously. “We need to contact Olympus, see if they have answers, there’s no point bickering between each other”. Percy is perfectly diplomatic, voice calm and strong, but not commanding.

 

“Olympus is quiet, Percy. They have been refusing to answer my Iris Messages and Lord Apollo has not returned from the Council meeting last night” Chiron says, voice grim and his face guarded. “And I doubt they will be answering any time soon”. 

 

“But we need to get a message to our mother,” says Magnus, the head counselor to the Hecate Cabin, gesturing to themselves and Lou-Ellen, “we’ve been putting off telling anyone, since none of us thought it was that big of an idea, but after talking to the rest of our siblings-”

 

“We feel like shit and we think it might have something to do with the Mist” cuts in Lou-ellen, her face pinched, in what Leo guesses must be pain. 

 

Seeing this, Will and Kayla move forward, hands twitching but Lou-ellen waves them away, leaning on her sibling. 

 

“Even more of a reason to head to Olympus and shut down the borders. Complete lock-down. No one in, no one out” Clarisse argues, her eyes hard and thin. Annabeth rises up on her hackles ready to argue her point. 

 

“We need to establish contact with the right Mortals. If our theory is true and the Mist is….deactivated, for whatever reason, we need to make sure we establish ourselves as allies to the Government, not something to be feared. Also, we can’t be sure that the monsters will continue to ignore mortals. What if an empousa decides to kill a mortal in broad daylight? The mortals will panic-” 

 

“They’re  _ mortals!  _ Of course they’re going to panic. What if we do establish contact and the Military decides we’re too dangerous and decide to bomb us from here to Hades? It’s too risky-”

 

“Annabeth, Clarisse!,” cuts in Chris Rodriguez, eyes hard, “It doesn’t matter what we decide here. We can’t do anything until we get the go-ahead from the other Pantheons”

Jason steps forward, standing at the Tennis Table, arms crossed, “He’s right. Any decision we make will impact not only us but New Rome, The Nomes and Hotel Valhalla too, There needs to be a democratic vote and some communication from the gods before we do anything”

 

“I’ll call New Rome, talk to Hazel and Frank,” says Piper, already working on a plan, before she leaves the room, a drachma between her knuckles.

 

“I might be able to get us in contact with the gods, well, maybe just my Dad, but it’s better than nothing, right?” Leo says, a light sheen of sweat forming over his skin as everyone’s gaze whips to his. Leo may be a bit of an attention whore, but this is the wrong kind of attention. 

 

“Are you sure, Leo? Askes Katie Gardner and Leo is stuck between questioning himself and being offended. “During the Giant War, when there was a complete communication blackout, my dad contacted me through some old machinery. I could probably reverse-engineer what he did to work in our advantage. I might need some time-”

 

Then he feels it. 

 

It’s humming at the back of his mind, a tingling in his gut and tearing his mind away from his speech. He looks up, eyes fixing on a point on the ceiling and he knows it’s up there, a machine that’s just appeared above them. There’s so little tech in Camp that it sticks out like a goddamn beacon.

 

“Leo, are you-”

 

“Valdez, what the Hades-”

 

“There is currently an MH-6H Helicopter flying above us right now, just in case you wanted to know” he croaks out, his brain sending the information he didn’t consciously know straight to his mouth. 

 

“That’s a goddamn attack and reconnaissance chopper,” Clarisse says, softly, like she can’t believe what she’s saying. 

 

Then, a scream. A small, muffled scream and _chaos._ People rush out, grabbing weapons and Leo is running, his hand aflame, out of the Big House and onto the ground. He’s followed by Clarisse, Jason, Percy, and Chiron

 

A girl, who he assumes is the one who screamed, runs from Thalia’s Pine, the rising sun elongating her shadow. 

She’s a small black girl, with big curly hair and big doe eyes. She’s also covered in armor and holding a dagger, her eyes wide in fear. “Clarisse!” she calls, running into her, shaking, “I’m sorry I didn’t stand my ground, but they had guns and-”. 

Clarisse picks the girl up and hands her to Chiron before she takes off up the hill, shrugging off Chiron’s calls and taking out Tamer. Percy curses in Ancient Greek before uncapping Riptide and following her, which prompts Jason to take out _R_ _ evivescere,  _ his Imperial Gold sword that Leo made for his 17th.

 

Apparently, _R_ _ evivescere  _ was Latin for ‘to live again’. 

 

Leo had…..feelings about that sword and its name. And since Jason had decided to go, Leo had to follow, like the dumbass he was. So, Leo took out….his keys. He fumbled with the number of keys on the ring until his fingers brushed the enchanted keyring and he had a small Glock 17 in his right hand instead of his keys.

 

Leo sprinted off, the gun an oddly familiar weight in his hand as he moved through the snow up to the hill. 

 

Leo had a weird history with guns. 

 

Leo had seen guns used for bad, by gangs and _ policia  _ and psychopaths, but Leo was good with guns. He was good with projectile weapons, really really good with them. It was easier knowing it only held celestial bronze bullets, but it still freaked him some days, so he mostly used his knives if he had to fight something, but his knives were at home, so it was Glock Time, he guessed. 

 

He reached the Barrier and saw Jason, Percy, and Clarisse just standing there, looking into the Forest beyond. 

He wandered quietly over to Jason, walking on the balls of his feet, ready to spring into a fight at any moment. “Hey, Jace,” he whispered, “what are we doing?”.

 

Jason side-eyed him, blue-eyes dark and stormy, before answering him with a downturned mouth. “We’re waiting”. 

 

Waiting? Waiting for what?

 

Then, Leo felt that familiar tingle again, except it was coming from above  _ and  _ in front of him. He could faintly hear the chopper and the heat radiating off the machines in front of them, the ones hidden in the forest were eerily similar to-

 

“Chopper above us, guns in front, heavy-duty” he whispered back to Jason, keeping one eye on the deceptively peaceful forest, the trees shifting slightly in the breeze, green illuminated by the snow and the slowly rising sun, painting it in golds and reds. 

 

Then, something cracks-

 

Leo has his gun locked and loaded in under three seconds and he can hear the electricity running up Revivescere and Tamer, one artificial, one….not. 

Then, men in black gear storm out of the trees, full combat gear and the Chopper is hovering dangerously close to the top of the Barrier and Leo can’t keep track of them all, aim shifting from target to target, eyes thin with concentration-

_ “They’re mortal,”  _ Percy says in Ancient Greek and Leo suddenly realizes what this means. Mortals can see them, they can see Camp and their weapons and this is only hitting him now, the gravity of the situation. Mortals can see. They can see through the Mist. All of them.

 

Mortals can see the world of the  _ Gods- _

Leo’s breath is coming in quick huffs and his eyes are wide, too wide to aim and he drops his arms, letting them hang useless beside his body.

 

“This is the US Army! Drop your weapons and surrender peacefully!” 

 

_ They can see.  _

 

* * *

  
  


Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Joyce has been working at the Pentagon for about a month. Of course, everything just had to go to shit in the month he started, didn’t it?

 

It’s 5 in the morning and he’s running around like a goddamn headless chicken for the General through the Pentagon. “General!,” he calls after the General, “sir! I’ve got the Doctor for you!”

He’s dragging some poor scientist after him into the General’s office, mind running at a million miles per hour.

 

“Joyce, you’ve found him? Good” 

The Doctor sits in the chair opposite the General’s desk, beady eyes darting around like a cornered animal, his tongue darting out to wet his lips every so often.

 

Stephen stands stock still in the room, arms straight by his side. 

 

“Well, Doc, any good news for us regarding the creatures? Maybe how to kill ‘em?” 

The Doctor shakes, but manages to get out a “No, s-sir”

The General raises an eyebrow, unimpressed and the Doctor nearly falls over himself to regain some respect. “Well- these creatures do emit high levels of electromagnetic radiation, much higher than most living creatures-”

 

“ _ Radiation _ ? Doc, are these creatures  _ radioactive?” _

The Doctor blinks quickly, shaking his head. “No, no it’s not like that, well it is, but the point is they’re not going to cause radiation, but-” the Doc wrings his hands together, calloused pale hands rubbing against each other, “-there seems to be a huge build-up of the same energy signature, which could well be an origin point for these creatures-”

 

“Good. Give the location and I’ll send a scout team out” 

 

“Oh, it’s-uh, this set of coordinates, on Long Beach, New York”.  _Long Beach?_ Certainly not a hub of terrorist activity, in his opinion.

 

The General dismisses the Doc, who scurries away. Doc’s been here since the beginning of the Pentagon and he’s always been this nervous, always mousy and darting eyes, but he’s loyal and smart and knows how to get the job done. 

 

“Lieutenant, I want communication with all the Police Department, all reports of these things are to be sent here, to be reviewed by us. I want Homeland and the FBI scouring for leads, anything about this, any chatter. I want some reports from the CIA. Is it internal or external? And I want it yesterday” the General commanded, his tanned face weathered and wary, “The House is onto my ass about this Joyce, so don’t let me down”. 

“Aye Aye, Sir,” he said clearly, snapping himself into a salute.

 

Stephen marched back out of his office and back into the endless hallways of the Pentagon. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Ah,  _ the army.  _

 

Leo always knew his death would probably come at the hands of the Government, one way or another, this was simply a path he hadn’t predicted. 

 

“Put your weapons on the ground and your hands behind your head” commanded Man In Black no.1, pointing his gun at them, most of his distinguishing features hidden beneath a balaclava and dark goggles.

Leo looked up at Percy, who was assessing the soldier carefully, tightening his grip on Riptide, which told Leo that he had to watch the soldiers.

 

“Sir,” Percy began, voice neutral despite the hundred of emotions flickering behind his dark sea-green eyes, “we can’t do that right now, but if you’re okay with it, we’d like to set up a line of communication”. 

 

The soldier and his comrades shifted, obviously confused and the one closest to them re-adjusted the gun in his hands. “Son, we are 5 feet away from you. This is the line of communication, now put down-”

 

“Step forward” 

 

The head-soldier, Leo’s going to call him Kevin, turned his gaze from Percy to Clarisse and Leo saw most of the guns settle on her. “Miss, I don’t take orders from you. Now, this is your final warning to put down your weapons and come with us for questioning”. It’s clear that their display isn’t going to work without some prompting and Clarisse sags slightly, turning Tamer’s shaft in her hands.

 

Leo has a plan. 

 

Leo has a dumb plan, but he wouldn’t be Leo Valdez if his plans weren’t dangerous and dumb. 

 

“Okay,” Leo says, slowly laying his gun on the ground and putting his hands behind his head, “Okay, we’ll go…” he trails off as he steps closer, and over the barrier. 

 

He can feel the stares of the others on his back. 

 

The soldier grabs Leo’s arm, preparing to put him in cuffs, but this is familiar territory-

As soon as he’s yanked forward, Leo pulls back, wrenching himself and the soldier back and he hears the pop of a gunshot-

 

The soldier bounces off the barrier violently at the same time Leo goes tumbling through it. He lands on his back and almost laughs as he hears the cursing of the soldier. The sky is fading from the purple to more blues and yellows and pinks. He can also see that chopper. Sleek and black and beautiful. He should build a chopper after he digs the bullet out of his left shoulder. 

He pushes himself up and Jason catches him around his middle, helping him up on his ass. “By the gods, Leo! Did you even think that through or were you just going to wing it?” he says, blue eyes wide with worry behind his glasses and filled with that familiar  _ ‘Leo you dumbass’ _ look.

 

“What the fuck!” screeches the soldier and Leo bite back a giggle. 

 

“As I said, we’d like a line of communication, please. Also, this place is filled with kids, so would you mind pulling back your flying machine of death?” Percy asked politely, voice dripping in honey. 

Leo watches the Soldier pull himself back up and look at them, eyes hidden beneath his goggles. Jason has a hand pressed to the wound on Leo’s left shoulder and the pain makes his eyesight go a bit wonky, but he needs to see his plan to fruition.

 

“What’s going-”

 

Jason stares at Annabeth as she runs up the crest, and her eyes dart from Leo to the soldiers to Percy and then back behind her. 

“ _ Stay back!”  _ she shouts in Ancient Greek and whoever else was coming doesn’t breach the crest.

 

“A line of communication, that’s what you want?” the soldier asks and Percy nods, sheathing Riptide the normal way, as in he ties it to his belt instead of causing the mortals to go absolutely batshit crazy when his sword turns into a pen. 

 

“Yes, and remove the chopper”

 

The Soldier speaks to his friends and Jason takes off his letterman, pressing the fabric to the wound. Thank Gods it was already red or Leo would’ve wrung Jason’s neck. The pain starts settling in once the adrenaline starts to fade from his blood, the heat blossoming beneath the wound and outwards. Leo hisses when Jason applies pressure, but Jason continues on. 

 

“You take him back, I’ll take over your watch” and Christ is Leo happy to hear that. Annabeth will probably have this all sorted out by the time he’s conscious again. 

 

“You’re great, Annabeth” he mumbles, falling sideways into Jason. He should go for a nap, yeah, a quick one. 

He feels Jason’s arms under his chest and under his knees and Annabeth says to them as they leave-

 

“Tell Piper to get Mrs. O Leary to bring her, you and Malcolm to Camp Jupiter. Tell them we have the attention of the American Army and they are prepared to talk”

 

Leo doesn’t want Jason to leave him. 

 

He falls.

  
  


* * *

 

 

Hazel is going to commit murder. 

 

This is how she ends her Praetorship, by killing Senator Davis. They’ll sing songs about the fair and just Praetor Zhang and his fellow Praetor Levesque, who killed a man for disagreeing with her. 

 

“Senator Davis, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten the last three years, but The Greeks are our allies and as our allies, it is part of our duty to think of them as well. Not to mention the fact that New Rome has had close relations with the First Nome for quite a while. We must do everything in our power to ensure their safety as well as our own” she announces, gold eyes hard as she stares down Davis. 

There are choruses of agreement or booing, each with their own argument.

Both her and Frank think it’s best to open a line with the panicked mortals, calm down their government leaders, maybe even get a solution from the gods, but some older Senators and Lares are reluctant. They've barely gotten used to the Greeks being allies, never mind looking at mortals as allies. 

Hazel is apprehensive too. She's seen the worst of humanity, in all their hatred and bigotry, but she won't leave her Camp to be demonized or feared irrationally. She will protect New Rome to her last breath, even if that means interacting and talking with an institution Hazel……strongly dislikes.

She sits tall, her toga flowing beneath her imperial gold armor, eyes hard, preparing to give one last speech. She can feel Frank behind her, his looming shadow a comforting blanket.

Then, a young legionnaire bursts into the Senate, armor askew and breathing heavy, cheeks reddened with exertion. “Forgive me Praetors, Senators, but we have a minor….skirmish occurring at the Little Tiber-”

“What kind of skirmish?” Frank asks, his bow already in his hand. Hazel feels the Senate grow even tenser, the air solidifying with it.

“Ah, an envoy of Greeks appeared on a Hellhound and Tiberius is refusing to let them in-”

“Reyna,” Hazel cuts in, silencing her legionnaire by raising her hand, “bring the envoy here. If Tiberius refuses, tell him that his Praetor demands it”

 

Reyna nods once and storms out of the room, her armor shining in the night. 

 

It's currently still dark here in New Rome, a product of being 3 hours behind the East Coast, so it's around 5 in the morning, the sun still hidden beneath the horizon. It's also cold. Not as cold as New York, but you can feel the chill in the air. The kind that sticks to your skin and settles in your bones. 

For a few minutes, pointless arguments break out, nothing overwhelmingly serious, all of which resolve themselves in a few minutes.

 

Then, the Legionnaire comes rushing in, four others trailing behind him. He nods to her and Hazel excuses him. 

 

It’s Piper and Jason, with a demigod Hazel only vaguely recognizes. He’s tall and willowy, with blond hair and piercing grey eyes. Athenian, then. Reyna stands with them, close to Piper but not close enough to alert anyone of their relationship.

“Praetor Levesque, Praetor Zhang, Senate of New Rome, I come bearing bad news,” the Athenian says, his body drawn tight, like a bowstring. “Has something happened?” asks Frank, his face contorting with worry and his dark eyes softening with concern. Both her and Frank have been accused of being too soft to lead, but Hazel thinks the Legion could do with a little bit of softness.

 

“The Army is at Camp Half-Blood-”

 

“The Army is _ where? _ -”

"Di Immortales!-"

"By the grace of the gods-"

"Oh, fuck me backwards, really-

 

“Silence, Senators!”

 

One of the Senators in question glares daggers at Frank, eyes hard, but relents, slouching in their seats, other Senators smiling apologetically. 

 

Jason continues on, head held high and shoulders back. “The Army is at the borders to Camp Half-Blood. They’ve seen that they’re unable to enter Camp and are setting up a line of communication now, but we don’t want to say anything that endangers us until we have the unanimous support of the biggest Pantheons” 

Hazel smiles gently at Jason, who looks worse for ware. His glasses are askew and his hair is messy, from him running his own hand through it too many times.

 

“Someone put us in Contact with the Kanes,” Hazel commands, rising to her feet, her gold armor glinting in the dark Senate and her eyes near glowing, her curly hair pinned atop her head, curls escaping from the bun to frame her face. 

 

“We are to Vote for our future”

 

 


End file.
